The Jugurthine War (Sallust)

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	The Jugurthine War Author: Sallust	Translator: John Selby Watson
28	At Iugurtha contra spem nuntio accepto , quippe cui Romae omnia venire in animo haeserat , filium et cum eo duos familiaris ad senatum legatos mittit iisque uti illis , quos Hiempsale interfecto miserat , praecipit , omnis mortalis pecunia aggrediantur . Qui postquam Romam adventabant , senatus a Bestia consultus est , placeretne legatos Iugurthae recipi moenibus , iique decrevere , nisi regnum ipsumque deditum venissent , uti in diebus proximis decem Italia decederent . Consul Numidis ex senatus decreto nuntiari iubet . Ita infectis rebus illi domum discedunt . Interim Calpurnius parato exercitu legat sibi homines nobilis factiosos , quorum auctoritate quae deliquisset munita fore sperabat . In quis fuit Scaurus , cuius de natura et habitu supra memorauimus . Nam in consule nostro multae bonaeque artes et animi et corporis erant , quas omnis auaritia praepediebat : patiens laborum , acri ingenio , satis prouidens , belli haud ignarus , firmissimus contra pericula et invidias . Sed legiones per Italiam Regium atque inde Siciliam , porro ex Sicilia in Africam transuectae . Igitur Calpurnius initio paratis commeatibus acriter Numidiam ingressus est , multosque mortalis et urbis aliquot pugnando cepit .	When Jugurtha received this news, which was utterly at variance with his expectations, as he had felt convinced that all things were purchasable at Rome, he sent his son, with two of his friends, as deputies to the senate, and directed them, like those whom he had sent on the murder of Hiempsal, to attack every body with bribes. Upon the approach of these deputies to Rome, the senate was consulted by Bestia, whether they would allow them to be admitted within the gates; and the senate decreed, " that, unless they came to surrender Jugurtha's kingdom and himself, they must quit Italy within the ten following days." The consul directed this decree to be communicated to the Numidians, who consequently returned home without effecting their object. Calpurnius, in the mean time, having raised an army, chose for his officers men of family and intrigue, hoping that whatever faults he might commit, would be screened by their influence; and among these was Scaurus, of whose disposition and character we have already spoken. There were, indeed, in our consul Calpurnius, many excellent qualities, both mental and personal, though avarice interfered with the exercise of them; he was patient of labor, of a penetrating intellect, of great foresight, not inexperienced in war, and extremely vigilant against danger and surprise. The troops were conducted through Italy to Rhegium, from thence to Sicily, and from Sicily into Africa; and Calpurnius's first step, after collecting provisions, was to invade Numidia with spirit, where he took many prisoners, and several towns, by force of arms.
29	Sed ubi Iugurtha per legatos pecunia temptare bellique , quod administrabat , asperitatem ostendere coepit , animus aeger auaritia facile conuersus est . Ceterum socius et administer omnium consiliorum assumitur Scaurus , qui tametsi a principio plerisque ex factione eius corruptis acerrime regem impugnauerat , tamen magnitudine pecuniae a bono honestoque in prauum abstractus est . Sed Iugurtha primo tantummodo belli moram redimebat , existimans sese aliquid interim Romae pretio aut gratia effecturum . Postea vero quam participem negoti Scaurum accepit , in maximam spem adductus recuperandae pacis statuit cum iis de omnibus pactionibus praesens agere . Ceterum interea fidei causa mittitur a consule Sextius quaestor in oppidum Iugurthae Vagam . Cuius rei species erat acceptio frumenti , quod Calpurnius palam legatis imperauerat , quoniam deditionis mora indutiae agitabantur . Igitur rex , uti constituerat , in castra venit , ac pauca praesenti consilio locutus de invidia facti sui atque uti in deditionem acciperetur , relicua cum Bestia et Scauro secreta transigit . Dein postero die quasi per saturam sententiis exquisitis in deditionem accipitur . Sed , uti pro consilio imperatum erat , elephanti triginta , pecus atque equi multi cum paruo argenti pondere quaestori traduntur . Calpurnius Romam ad magistratus rogandos proficiscitur . In Numidia et exercitu nostro pax agitabatur .	But when Jugurtha began, through his emissaries, to tempt him with bribes, and to show the difficulties of the war which he had undertaken to conduct, his mind, corrupted with avarice, was easily altered. His accomplice, however, and manager in all his schemes, was Scaurus; who, though he had at first, when most of his party were corrupted, displayed violent hostility to Jugurtha, yet was afterward seduced, by a vast sum of money, from integrity and honor to injustice and perfidy-Jugurtha, however, at first sought only to purchase a suspension of hostilities, expecting to be able, during the interval, to make some favorable impression, either by bribery or by interest, at Rome; but when he heard that Scaurus was co-operating with Calpurnius, he was elated with great hopes of regaining peace, and resolved upon a conference with them in person respecting the terms of it. In the mean time, for the sake of giving confidence to Jugurtha, Sextus the quæstor was dispatched by the consul to Vaga, one of the prince's towns; the pretext for his journey being the receiving of corn, which Calpurnius had openly demanded from Jugurtha's emissaries, on the ground that a truce was observed through their delay to make a surrender. Jugurtha then, as he had determined, paid a visit to the consul's camp, where, having made a short address to the council, respecting the odium cast upon his conduct, and his desire for a capitulation, he arranged other matters with Bestia and Scaurus in secret; and the next day, as if by an evident majority of voices, he was formally allowed to surrender. But, as was demanded in the hearing of the council, thirty elephants, a considerable number of cattle and horses, and a small sum of money, were delivered into the hands of the quæstor. Calpurnius then returned to Rome to preside at the election of magistrates, and peace was observed throughout Numidia and the Roman army.
30	Postquam res in Africa gestas quoque modo actae forent fama diuulgauit , Romae per omnis locos et conventus de facto consulis agitari . Apud plebem grauis invidia , patres solliciti erant : probarentne tantum flagitium an decretum consulis subuerterent , parum constabat . Ac maxime eos potentia Scauri , quod is auctor et socius Bestiae ferebatur , a vero bonoque impediebat . At C . Memmius , cuius de libertate ingeni et odio potentiae nobilitatis supra diximus , inter dubitationem et moras senatus contionibus populum ad vindicandum hortari , monere , ne rem publicam , ne libertatem suam desererent , multa superba et crudelia facinora nobilitatis ostendere ; prorsus intentus omni modo plebis animum incendebat . Sed quoniam ea tempestate Romae Memmi facundia clara pollensque fuit , decere existimaui unam ex tam multis orationem eius perscribere , ac potissimum ea dicam , quae in contione post reditum bestiae huiusce modi verbis disseruit :	When rumor had made known the affairs transacted in Africa, and the mode in which they had been brought to pass, the conduct of the consul became a subject of discussion in every place and company at Rome. Among the people there was violent indignation; as to the senators, whether they would ratify so flagitious a proceeding, or annul the act of the consul, was a matter of doubt. The influence of Scaurus, as he was said to be the supporter and accomplice of Bestia, was what chiefly restrained the senate from acting with justice and honor. But Caius Memmius, of whose boldness of spirit, and hatred to the power of the nobility, I have already spoken, excited the people by his harangues, during the perplexity and delay of the senators, to take vengeance on the authors of the treaty; he exhorted them not to abandon the public interest or their own liberty; he set before them the many tyrannical and violent proceedings of the nobles, and omitted no art to inflame the popular passions. But as the eloquence of Memmius, at that period, had great reputation and influence I have thought proper to give in full one out of many of his speeches; and I take, in preference to others, that which he delivered in the assembly of the people, after the return of Bestia, in words to the following effect:
31	" Multa me dehortantur a vobis , Quirites , ni studium rei publicae omnia superet : opes factionis , vestra patientia , ius nullum , ac maxime quod innocentiae plus periculi quam honoris est . Nam illa quidem piget dicere , his annis quindecim quam ludibrio fueritis superbiae paucorum , quam foede quamque inulti perierint vestri defensores , ut vobis animus ab ignavia atque socordia corruptus sit , qui ne nunc quidem obnoxiis inimicis exurgitis atque etiam nunc timetis eos , quibus decet terrori esse . Sed quamquam haec talia sunt , tamen obviam ire factionis potentiae animus subigit . Certe ego libertatem , quae mihi a parente meo tradita est , experiar . Verum id frustra an ob rem faciam , in vestra manu situm est , Quirites . Neque ego vos hortor , quod saepe maiores vestri fecere , uti contra iniurias armati eatis . Nihil vi , nihil secessione opus est ; necesse est suomet ipsi more praecipites eant . Occiso Ti . Graccho , quem regnum parare aiebant , in plebem Romanam quaestiones habitae sunt ; post C . Gracchi et C . Fului caedem item vestri ordinis multi mortales in carcere necati sunt : utriusque cladis non lex , verum libido eorum finem fecit . Sed sane fuerit regni paratio plebi sua restituere ; quicquid sine sanguine civium ulcisci nequitur , iure factum sit . Superioribus annis taciti indignabamini aerarium expilari , reges et populos liberos paucis nobilibus uectigal pendere , penes eosdem et summam gloriam et maximas divitias esse . Tamen haec talia facinora impune suscepisse parum habuere , itaque postremo leges , maiestas vestra , divina et humana omnia hostibus tradita sunt . Neque eos qui ea fecere pudet aut paenitet , sed incedunt per ora vestra magnifici , sacerdotia et consulatus , pars triumphos suos ostentantes ; proinde quasi ea honori , non praedae habeant . Servi aere parati iniusta imperia dominorum non perferunt ; vos , Quirites , in imperio nati aequo animo servitutem toleratis ? At qui sunt ii , qui rem publicam occupauere ? Homines sceleratissimi , cruentis manibus , immani auaritia , nocentissimi et idem superbissimi , quibus fides decus pietas , postremo honesta atque inhonesta omnia quaestui sunt . Pars eorum occidisse tribunos plebis , alii quaestiones iniustas , plerique caedem in vos fecisse pro munimento habent . Ita quam quisque pessime fecit , tam maxime tutus est . metum ab scelere suo ad ignaviam vestram transtulere , quos omnis eadem cupere , eadem odisse , eadem metuere in unum coegit . Sed haec inter bonos amicitia , inter malos factio est . Quod si tam vos libertatis curam haberetis , quam illi ad dominationem accensi sunt , profecto neque res publica sicuti nunc vastaretur et beneficia vestra penes optimos , non audacissimos forent . maiores vestri parandi iuris et maiestatis constituendae gratia bis per secessionem armati Auentinum occupauere ; vos pro libertate , quam ab illis accepistis , nonne summa ope nitemini ? Atque eo vehementius , quo maius dedecus est parta amittere quam omnino non parauisse . Dicet aliquis " quid igitur censes ?" Vindicandum in eos , qui hosti prodidere rem publicam , non manu neque vi , quod magis vos fecisse quam illis accidisse indignum est , verum quaestionibus et indicio ipsius Iugurthae . Qui si dediticius est , profecto iussis vestris oboediens erit ; sin ea contemnit , scilicet existimabitis , qualis illa pax aut deditio sit , ex qua ad Iugurtham scelerum impunitas , ad paucos potentis maximae divitiae , ad rem publicam damna atque dedecora pervenerint ; nisi forte nondum etiam vos dominationis eorum satietas tenet et illa quam haec tempora magis placent , cum regna prouinciae leges iura iudicia bella atque paces , postremo divina et humana omnia penes paucos erant ; vos autem , hoc est populus Romanus , invicti ab hostibus , imperatores omnium gentium , satis habebatis animam retinere . Nam servitutem quidem quis vestrum recusare audebat ? Atque ego tametsi viro flagitiosissimum existimo impune iniuriam accepisse , tamen vos hominibus sceleratissimis ignoscere , quoniam ciues sunt , aequo animo paterer , ni misericordia in perniciem casura esset . Nam et illis , quantum importunitatis habent , parum est impune male fecisse , nisi deinde faciendi licentia eripitur , et vobis aeterna sollicitudo remanebit , cum intellegetis aut seruiendum esse aut per manus libertatem retinendam . Nam fidei quidem aut concordiae quae spes est ? Dominari illi volunt , vos liberi esse ; facere illi iniurias , vos prohibere ; postremo sociis nostris ueluti hostibus , hostibus pro sociis utuntur . Potestne in tam diuersis mentibus pax aut amicitia esse ? quare moneo hortorque vos , ne tantum scelus impunitum omittatis . Non peculatus aerari factus est neque per vim sociis ereptae pecuniae , quae quamquam gravia sunt , tamen consuetudine iam pro nihilo habentur ; hosti acerrimo prodita senatus auctoritas , proditum imperium vestrum est ; domi militiaeque res publica venalis fuit . Quae nisi quaesita erunt , nisi vindicatum in noxios , quid erit relicuum , nisi ut illis qui ea fecere oboedientes vivamus ? Nam impune quae libet facere , id est regem esse . Neque ego vos , Quirites , hortor , ut malitis civis vestros perperam quam recte fecisse , sed ne ignoscendo malis bonos perditum eatis . Ad hoc in re publica multo praestat benefici quam malefici immemorem esse : bonus tantummodo segnior fit , ubi neglegas , at malus improbior . Ad hoc si iniuriae non sint , haut saepe auxili egeas ."	" Were not my zeal for the good of the state, my fellow-citizens, superior to every other feeling, there are many considerations which would deter me from appearing in your cause; I allude to the power of the opposite party, your own tameness of spirit, the absence of all justice, and, above all, the fact that integrity is attended with more danger than honor. Indeed, it grieves me to relate, how, during the last fifteen years, you have been a sport to the arrogance of an oligarchy; how dishonorably, and how utterly unavenged, your defenders have perished; and how your spirit has become degenerate by sloth and indolence; for not even now, when your enemies are in your power, will you rouse yourselves to action, but continue still to stand in awe of those to whom you should be a terror. " Yet, notwithstanding this state of things, I feel prompted to make an attack on the power of that faction. That liberty of speech, therefore, which has been left me by my father, I shall assuredly exert against them; but whether I shall use it in vain, or for your advantage, must, my fellow-citizens, depend upon yourselves. I do not, however, exhort you, as your ancestors have often done, to rise in arms against injustice. There is at present no need of violence, no need of secession; for your tyrants must work their fall by their own misconduct. " After the murder of Tiberius Gracchus, whom they accused of aspiring to be king, persecutions were instituted against the common people of Rome; and after the slaughter of Caius Gracchus and Marcus Fulvius, many of your order were put to death in prison. But let us leave these proceedings out of the question; let us admit that to restore their rights to the people, was to aspire to sovereignty; let us allow that what can not be avenged without shedding the blood of citizens, was done with justice. You have seen with silent indignation, however, in past years, the treasury pillaged; you have seen kings, and free people, paying tribute to a small party of Patricians, in whose hands were both the highest honors and the greatest wealth; but to have carried on such proceedings with impunity, they now deem but a small matter; and, at last, your laws and your honor, with every civil and religious obligation, have been sacrificed for the benefit of your enemies. Nor do they, who have done these things, show either shame or contrition, but parade proudly before your faces, displaying their sacerdotal dignities, their consulships, and some of them their triumphs, as if they regarded them as marks of honor, and not as fruits of their dishonesty. Slaves, purchased with money, will not submit to unjust commands from their masters; yet you, my fellow-citizens, who are born to empire, tamely endure oppression. "But who are these that have thus taken the government into their hands ? Men of the most abandoned character, of blood-stained hands, of insatiable avarice, of enormous guilt, and of matchless pride; men by whom integrity, reputation, public spirit, and indeed every thing, whether honorable or dishonorable, is converted to a means of gain. Some of them make it their defense that they have killed tribunes of the people; others, that they have instituted unjust prosecutions; others, that they have shed your blood; and thus, the more atrocities each has committed, the greater is his security; while your oppressors, whom the same desires, the same aversions, and the same fears, combine in strict union (a union which among good men is friendship, but among the bad confederacy in guilt), have excited in you, through your want of spirit, that terror which they ought to feel for their own crimes. " But if your concern to preserve your liberty were as great as their ardor to increase their power of oppression, the state would not be distracted as it is at present; and the marks of favor which proceed from you, would be conferred, not on the most shameless, but on the most deserving. Your forefathers, in order to assert their rights and establish their authority, twice seceded in arms to Mount Aventine ; and will not you exert yourselves, to the utmost of your power, in defense of that liberty which you received from them ? Will you not display so much the more spirit in the cause, from the reflection that it is a greater disgrace to lose what has been gained, than not to have gained it at all ? "But some will ask me, 'What course of conduct, then, would you advise us to pursue ?' I would advise you to inflict punishment on those who have sacrificed the interests of their country to the enemy; not, indeed, by arms, or any violence (which would be more unbecoming, however, for you to inflict than for them to suffer), but by prosecutions, and by the evidence of Jugurtha himself, who, if he has really surrendered, will doubtless obey your summons; whereas, if he shows contempt for it, you will at once judge what sort of a peace or surrender it is, from which springs impunity to Jugurtha for his crimes, immense wealth to a few men in power, and loss and infamy to the republic. "But perhaps you are not yet weary of the tyranny of these men; perhaps these times please you less than those when kingdoms, provinces, laws, rights, the administration of justice, war and peace, and indeed every thing civil and religious, was in the hands of an oligarchy; while you, that is, the people of Rome, though unconquered by foreign enemies, and rulers of all nations around, were content with being alloyed to live; for which of you had spirit to throw off your slavery ? For myself, indeed, though I think it most disgraceful to receive an injury without resenting it, yet I could easily allow you to pardon these basest of traitors, because they are your fellow-citizens, were it not certain that your indulgence would end in your destruction. For such is their presumption, that to escape punishment for their misdeeds will have but little effect upon them, unless they be deprived, at the same time, of the power of doing mischief; and endless anxiety will remain for you, if you shall have to reflect that you must either be slaves or preserve your liberty by force of arms. "Of mutual trust, or concord, what hope is there? They wish to be lords, you desire to be free; they seek to inflict injury, you to repel it; they treat your allies as enemies, your enemies as allies. With feelings so opposite, can peace or friendship subsist between you ? I warn, therefore, and exhort you, not to allow such enormous dishonesty to go unpunished. It is not an embezzlement of the public money that has been committed; nor is it a forcible extortion of money from your allies; offenses which, though great, are now, from their frequency, considered as nothing; but the authority of the senate, and your own power, have been sacrificed to the bitterest of enemies, and the public interest has been betrayed for money, both at home and abroad; and unless these misdeeds be investigated, and punishment be inflicted on the guilty, what remains for us but to live the slaves of those who committed them For those who do what they will with impunity are undoubtedly kings. "I do not, however, wish to encourage you, O Romans, to be better satisfied at finding your fellow-citizens guilty than innocent, but merely to warn you not to bring ruin on the good, by suffering the bad to escape. It is far better, in any government, to be unmindful of a service than of an injury ; for a good man, if neglected, only becomes less active; but a bad man, more daring. Besides, if the crimes of the wicked are suppressed, the state will seldom need extraordinary support from the virtuous."
32	Haec atque alia huiuscemodi saepe in contione dicendo Memmius populo persuadet , uti L . Cassius , qui tum praetor erat , ad Iugurtham mitteretur eumque interposita fide publica Romam duceret , quo facilius indicio regis Scauri et relicuorum , quos pecuniae captae arcessebat , delicta patefierent . Dum haec Romae geruntur , qui in Numidia relicti a Bestia exercitui praeerant , secuti morem imperatoris sui plurima et flagitiosissima facinora fecere . Fuere qui auro corrupti elephantos Iugurthae traderent , alii perfugas vendebant , pars ex pacatis praedas agebant : tanta vis auaritiae animos eorum ueluti tabes invaserat . At Cassius praetor perlata rogatione a C . Memmio ac perculsa omni nobilitate ad Iugurtham proficiscitur eique timido et ex conscientia diffidenti rebus suis persuadet , quoniam se populo Romano dedisset , ne vim quam misericordiam eius experiri mallet . Privatim praeterea fidem suam interponit , quam ille non minoris quam publicam ducebat : talis ea tempestate fama de Cassio erat .	By repeating these and similar sentiments, Memmius prevailed on the people to send Lucius Cassius, who was then prætor, to Jugurtha, and to bring him, under guarantee of the public faith, to Rome, in order that, by the prince's evidence, the misconduct of Scaurus and the rest, whom they charged with having taken bribes, might more easily be made manifest. During the course of these proceedings at Rome, those whom Bestia had left in Numidia in command of the army, following the example of their general, had been guilty of many scandalous transactions. Some, seduced by gold, had restored Jugurtha his elephants; others had sold him his deserters; others had ravaged the lands of those at peace with us; so strong a spirit of rapacity, like the contagion of a pestilence, had pervaded the breasts of all. Cassius, when the measure proposed by Memmius had been carried, and while all the nobility were in consternation, set out on his mission to Jugurtha, whom, alarmed as he was, and despairing of his fortune, from a sense of guilt, he admonished " that since he had surrendered himself to the Romans, he had better make trial of their mercy than their power." He also pledged his own word, which Jugurtha valued not less than that of the public, for his safety. Such, at that period, was the reputation of Cassius.
33	Igitur Iugurtha contra decus regium cultu quam maxime miserabili cum Cassio Romam venit . Ac tametsi in ipso magna vis animi erat , confirmatus ab omnibus , quorum potentia aut scelere cuncta ea gesserat , quae supra diximus , C . Baebium tribunum plebis magna mercede parat , cuius impudentia contra ius et iniurias omnis munitus foret . At C . Memmius aduocata contione , quamquam regi infesta plebes erat et pars in vincula duci iubebat , pars , nisi socios sceleris sui aperiret , more maiorum de hoste supplicium sumi , dignitati quam irae magis consulens sedare motus et animos eorum mollire , postremo confirmare fidem publicam per sese inviolatam fore . Post ubi silentium coepit , producto Iugurtha verba facit , Romae Numidiaeque facinora eius memorat , scelera in patrem fratresque ostendit . Quibus iuuantibus quibusque ministris ea egerit , quamquam intellegat populus Romanus , tamen velle manufesta magis ex illo habere . Si verum aperiat , in fide et clementia populi Romani magnam spem illi sitam ; sin reticeat , non sociis saluti fore , sed se suasque spes corrupturum .	Jugurtha, accordingly, accompanied Cassius to Rome, but without any mark of royalty, and in the garb, as much as possible, of a suppliant; and, though he felt great confidence on his own part, and was supported by all those through whose power or villainy he had accomplished his projects, he purchased, by a vast bribe, the aid of Caius Bæbius, a tribune of the people, by whose audacity he hoped to be protected against the law, and against all harm. An assembly of the people being convoked, Memmius although they were violently exasperated against Jugurtha, (some demanding that he should be cast into prison, others that, unless he should name his accomplices in guilt, he should be put to death, according to the usage of their ancestors, as a public enemy), yet, regarding rather their character than their resentment, endeavored to calm their turbulence and mitigate their rage ; and assured them that, as far as depended on him, the public faith should not be broken. At length, when silence was obtained, he brought forward Jugurtha, and addressed them. He detailed the misdeeds of Jugurtha at Rome and in Numidia, and set forth his crimes toward his father and brothers; and admonished the prince, " that the Roman people, though they were well aware by whose support and agency he had acted, yet desired further testimony from himself; that, if he disclosed the truth, there was great hope for him in the honor and clemency of the Romans; but if he concealed it, he would certainly not save his accomplices, but ruin himself and his hopes forever."
34	Deinde ubi Memmius dicendi finem fecit et Iugurtha respondere iussus est , C . Baebius tribunus plebis , quem pecunia corruptum supra diximus , regem tacere iubet , ac tametsi multitudo , quae in contione aderat , vehementer accensa terrebat eum clamore , uultu , saepe impetu atque aliis omnibus , quae ira fieri amat , vicit tamen impudentia . Ita populus ludibrio habitus ex contione discedit ; Iugurthae Bestiaeque et ceteris , quos illa quaestio exagitabat , animi augescunt .	But when Memmius had concluded his speech, and Jugurtha was expected to give his answer, Caius Bæbius, the tribune of the people, whom I have just noticed as having been bribed, enjoined the prince to hold his peace; and though the multitude, who formed the assembly, were desperately enraged, and endeavored to terrify the tribune by outcries, by angry looks, by violent gestures, and by every other act to which anger prompts, his audacity was at last triumphant. The people, mocked and set at naught, withdrew from the place of assembly; and the confidence of Jugurtha, Bestia, and the others, whom this investigation had alarmed, was greatly augmented.
35	Erat ea tempestate Romae Numida quidam nomine Massiua, Gulussae filius , Masinissae nepos , qui , quia in dissensione regum Iugurthae aduersus fuerat , dedita Cirta et Adherbale interfecto profugus ex patria abierat . Huic Sp . Albinus , qui proximo anno post Bestiam cum Q . Minucio Rufo consulatum gerebat , persuadet , quoniam ex stirpe Masinissae sit Iugurthamque ob scelera invidia cum metu urgeat , regnum Numidiae ab senatu petat . Auidus consul belli gerendi movere quam senescere omnia malebat . Ipsi prouincia Numidia , Minucio Macedonia evenerat . Quae postquam Massiua agitare coepit neque Iugurthae in amicis satis praesidi est , quod eorum alium conscientia , alium mala fama et timor impediebat , Bomilcari , proximo ac maxime fido sibi , imperat , pretio , sicuti multa confecerat , insidiatores Massiuae paret ac maxime occulte , sin id parum procedat , quouis modo Numidam interficiat . Bomilcar mature regis mandata exequitur et per homines talis negoti artifices itinera egressusque eius , postremo loca atque tempora cuncta explorat . Deinde , ubi res postulabat , insidias tendit . Igitur unus ex eo numero , qui ad caedem parati erant , paulo inconsultius Massiuam aggreditur . Illum obtruncat , sed ipse deprehensus multis hortantibus et in primis Albino consule indicium profitetur . Fit reus magis ex aequo bonoque quam ex iure gentium Bomilcar , comes eius , qui Romam fide publica venerat . At Iugurtha manufestus tanti sceleris non prius omisit contra verum niti , quam animaduertit supra gratiam atque pecuniam suam invidiam facti esse . Igitur , quamquam in priore actione ex amicis quinquaginta uades dederat , regno magis quam uadibus consulens clam in Numidiam Bomilcarem dimittit , veritus , ne relicuos popularis metus invaderet parendi sibi , si de illo supplicium sumptum foret . Et ipse paucis diebus eodem profectus est , iussus a senatu Italia decedere . Sed postquam Roma egressus est , fertur saepe eo tacitus respiciens postremo dixisse : " Urbem venalem et mature perituram , si emptorem invenerit ."	There was at this period in Rome a certain Numidian named Massiva, a son of Gulussa and grandson of Masinissa, who, from having been, in the dissensions among the princes, opposed to Jugurtha, had been obliged, after the surrender of Cirta and the murder of Adherbal, to make his escape out of Africa. Spurius Albinus, who was consul with Quintus Minucius Rufus the year after Bestia, prevailed upon this man, as he was of the family of Masinissa, and as odium and terror hung over Jugurtha for his crimes, to petition the senate for the kingdom of Numidia. Albinus,being eager for the conduct of a war, was desirous that affairs should be disturbed, rather than sink into tranquillity; especially as, in the division of the provinces, Numidia had fallen to himself, and Macedonia to Minucius. When Massiva proceeded to carry these suggestions into execution, Jugurtha, finding that he had no sufficient support in his friends, as a sense of guilt deterred some, and evil report or timidity others, from coming forward in his behalf, directed Bomilcar, his most attached and faithful adherent, to procure by the aid of money, by which he had already effected so much, assassins to kill Massiva; and to do it secretly if he could; but, if secrecy should be impossible, to cut him off' in any way whatsoever. This commission Bomilcar soon found means to execute; and, by the agency of men versed in such service, ascertained the direction of his journeys, his hours of leaving home, and the times at which he resorted to particular places, and, when all was ready, placed his assassins in ambush. One of their number sprung upon Massiva, though with too little caution, and killed him; but being himself caught, he made, at the instigation of many, and especially of Albinus the consul, a full confession. Bomilcar was accordingly committed for trial, though rather on the principles of reason and justice than in accordance with the law of nations, as he was in the retinue of one who had come to Rome on a pledge of the public faith for his safety. But Jugurtha, though clearly guilty of the crime, did not cease to struggle against the truth, until he perceived that the infamy of the deed was too strong for his interest or his money. For which reason, although, at the commencement of the proceedings, he had given fifty of his friends as bail for Bomilcar, yet, thinking more of his kingdom than of the sureties, he sent him off privately into Numidia; for he feared that if such a man should be executed, his other subjects would be deterred from obeying him. A few days after, he himself departed, having been ordered by the senate to quit Italy. But, as he was going from Rome, he is said, after frequently looking back on it in silence, to have at last exclaimed, "That it was a venal city, and would soon perish, if it could but find a purchaser !"
36	Interim Albinus renovato bello commeatum , stipendium aliaque , quae militibus usui forent , maturat in Africam portare ; ac statim ipse profectus , uti ante comitia , quod tempus haud longe aberat , armis aut deditione aut quouis modo bellum conficeret . At contra Iugurtha trahere omnia et alias , deinde alias morae causas facere ; polliceri deditionem ac deinde metum simulare ; cedere instanti et paulo post , ne sui diffiderent , instare : ita belli modo , modo pacis mora consulem ludifficare. Ac fuere qui tum Albinum haud ignarum consili regis existimarent neque ex tanta properantia tam facile tractum bellum socordia magis quam dolo crederent . Sed postquam dilapso tempore comitiorum dies adventabat , Albinus Aulo fratre in castris pro praetore relicto Romam decessit .	The war being now renewed, Albinus hastened to transport provisions, money, and other things necessary for the army, into Africa, whither he himself soon followed, with the hope that, before the time of the comitia, which was not far distant, he might be able, by an engagement, by capitulation, or by some other method, to bring the contest to a conclusion. Jugurtha, on the other hand, tried every means of protracting the war, continually inventing new causes for delay; at one time he promised to surrender, at another he feigned distrust; he retreated when Albinus attacked him, and then, lest his men should lose courage, attacked in return, and thus amused the consul with alternate procrastinations of war and of peace. There were some, at that time, who thought that Albinus understood Jugurtha's object, and who believed that so ready a protraction of the war, after so much haste at the commencement, was to be attributed less to tardiness than to treachery. However this might be, Albinus, when time passed on, and the day of the comitia approached, left his brother Aulus in the camp as proprætor, and returned to Rome.